Two Marines Killed Afghan Taliban Attack Targeting Prince Harry

9/15/2012 9:13 AM ET

Two U.S. Marines were killed and many others wounded in an attack by Taliban forces on Camp Bastion in southern Afghanistan Friday, military officials confirmed.

Like the multitude of anti-American protests springing up worldwide, the Taliban said their attack was spurned by the YouTube video "Innocence of Muslims," which depicts the Prophet Muhammed as a fraud, child molester and womanizer.

A Taliban spokesman also told the media the attack was targeting British royal Prince Harry, who just began duty as a helicopter co-pilot gunner at the base.

Camp Bastion is a British camp adjacent to Camp Leatherneck, which houses U.S. Marine personnel. Officials said Prince Harry, who the Taliban have vowed to kill, was never in any danger during the attack.

The attack on the base took place shortly after 10:00 p.m. on Friday, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed. Around 20 Taliban insurgents infiltrated the compound in Helmand province, wounding several soldiers and causing damage to multiple aircraft and structures.

"ISAF forces reacted to the assault, returned fire and killed all but one of the known insurgents, defeating the attack," ISAF confirmed. Multiple other coalition forces were wounded in the attack and are being treated on-base.